Topic of the year 2010 – Vocational Education and Training against Poverty and Social Exclusion

Title of 2010 Conference is dealing with the possibilities of combat of poverty through vocational education and training. The EVBB has a great potential for experience, and deals with such subjects for many years.

This year’s Conference in Lisbon our Bulgarian Member represented by Dr.Luba Popova has encouraged a keynote contribution. It has become clear that successful poverty reduction in early infancy has to start. In families and in nursery schools. Prevention of poverty is the basis of social integration in society. Skin color and religious admission may be no reasons for exclusion.

Mrs Popova gave a comprehensive overview of the State of development of poverty in Europe, it is found that poverty in the EU has increased in the last years and that the people recognize a rising danger. Disamyed groups are unemployed, older people and social risk groups.

Mrs. Popova analyzes the developmentsto poverty and social exclusion in the countries Germany, Portugal and Bulgaria. It becomes clear that the developments in the three countries are quite different. The overcoming of poverty is more difficult in countries such as Bulgaria than in Germany.

A particularly effective prevention of the spread of poverty is expansion of learning opportunities. In this context, the EVBB can play an important role.

In the ensuing discussion, it was agreed that education is an important basis on which to find demanding jobs in the labour market.

In an additional activity the EVBB working group dealt with the theme of “Combat Poverty through vocational education and training.” In an interview with the members of EVBB, the reasons for increasing poverty were queried.

The reasons were

Lack of education

Low professional qualifications

Not recognition of formal qualifications

The objectives set in the strategy 2020 can be a tool for combating:

Development of lifelong learning in the Member States

Use of instruments developed by the Commission, such as Europe, EQF/NQF